Gameday: Pacers @ Raptors, February 14

The season of reunion is continuing for the Toronto Raptors as they are scheduled to face off against Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers for the first time since trading the Raptors star. This comes after they welcomed back Fred VanVleet recently and it is only fitting that on Valentines Day they welcome back Siakam. Siakam isn’t coming alone though, he is bringing Tyrese Haliburton and the rest of the Pacers as they hope to spoil this reunion for Toronto and extend their losing streak to two.

Indiana is known for their extremely potent offense as they currently have the best offensive rating in the league at 120.5. The engine of this offensive production is Tyrese Haliburton and he will be the focal point on the defense end for Toronto. Haliburton loves to push the ball in transition, run numerous pick n rolls with a spread floor, and more than both of those, he loves to get his teammates involved in the game and this is something Toronto can’t’ afford to allow to happen. Indiana is full of play finishers that can easily benefit from the passing wizardry that Haliburton provides. Whether it is Aaron Nesmith knocking down three pointers, Myles Turner rolling or popping after a screen, Obi Toppin skying for lobs, there are so many ways the tertiary players in Indiana can hurt you. Siakam is the cherry on top to this offense as his scoring ability makes life even more difficult for opposing defenses. With so many offensive threats on the floor Siakam is able to operate in more space than he did his last couple of seasons with Toronto which allows him to score more easily.

The million dollar question is, how can Toronto keep this Pacers offense in check and there are a couple of things that they can do. A main thing is to keep their own turnovers down because turnovers are going to spark fast breaks for the Pacers and put immense pressure on Toronto to contain them. Another thing is Toronto has to watch the off ball movement for Indiana, due to Halliburton’s passing their players can cut off the ball and they will be found by Toronto if the off ball defense isn’t sharp.

The downfall of the Indiana Pacers is their defense, they currently have a 119.2 defensive rating and they can definitely be had on that end. Toronto’s best hope is to try and take full advantage of them on this end. Turner hasn’t been as adept on the defensive end this season and neither has Siakam. On the other hand though, Scottie Barnes has seemed to be struggling a bit with his new found role and the added defensive attention he has been receiving since Toronto made their trades. Unlike last game against Victor Wembenyama, the paint will be much more open for RJ Barrett and Barnes so things may look better on that end. Gradey Dick has also been much improved lately and has shown that he is a dangerous tertiary offensive weapon.

This game should be a fun test for Toronto since they will face a top offense in the league and test their mettle against yet another challenging game this season.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30pm EST | TV: TSN 1/4/4K | Radio: TSN Radio 1050

Pacers Lineup

Tyrese Haliburton is questionable with a hamstring injury, Bennedict Mathurin is questionable with a knee injury, Jalen Smith is out with a back injury,

PG: Tyrese Haliburton, T.J McConnell

SG: Andrew Nembhard, Benedict Mathurin

SF: Aaron Nesmith, Doug McDermott

PF: Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin

C: Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson